Both Sides of Time
by Makokam
Summary: "Your will and mine are now as one. Both sides of time are revealed to you...and you alone. You know I am the beginning. What shall you do?" A collection of short stories with implied re-dos. (Genre listing is general. Specific genres will be listed by chapter)
1. BylethFlayn Humor

_**Mako's Message: **Hi. Hopefully a lot of new people are reading this. Hopefully a lot of old people are reading this too. For the new people, this is the part where I explain a bit about why I did what I did, just to give it some context. In this case, when _Three Houses _released back at the end of June I was IMMEDIATELY enamored with the world, the characters, and the story. I was writing fanfics in my head within the first hour of gameplay and honestly considered just writing whatever scenes came to mind as I played, kind of chronicling my playthrough as I did. For better worse I didn't(but this chapter is the first idea I can remember), instead deciding to wait until I had "completed" the game so I didn't write a story that had someone as a only child when they actually have eight siblings or whatever. Well, I still haven't done that but didn't want to put this off any longer. I've at least heard how the story goes for all routes at this point, and had enough conversations with the cast to not write anything blatantly wrong.  
Anyway, all that is just to say that this story is nothing but a collection of scenes I didn't want to devote the effort of creating an entire story around.  
_

* * *

#1 – _Innocent Intentions_

Byleth spotted Flayn tending to some flowers off in the corner of the greenhouse, and after a quick look around revealed no one but the Greenhouse Keeper on the other side of the building, decided this would be the best time to speak with her about something.

"Hello Flayn."

"Eeeeep!" Flayn squeaked and jumped, nearly losing her pruning sheers.

"Professor!" she chided, clutching the sheers to her chest with both hands, "Don't startle me like that."

Byleth offered a short bow as way of apology, "It was not my intention. I merely wished to speak with you."

"Oh?" Flayn questioned, moving the sheers behind her back, "What about?"

Byleth did their best to give her a smile, "Soon after I came here, we spoke and I asked where I'd be able to speak with you, since you wouldn't be in my classes."

Flayn's eyes widened as she remembered the day in question, and what might have been a blush started to appear on her cheeks.

"You seemed quite scandalized by the question, but it seemed quite innocent to me-" Flayn was now definitely blushing, "What were you thinking of?"

Flayn's face was absolutely on fire, but at the same time she seemed quite determined.

Several minutes later, Byleth was standing at a window on the second floor of Garreg Mach monastery. They gazed over the landscape, watching the occasional pegasus knight patrolling the skies. Every few moments they would turn and glance back at the hall outside of the audience chamber.

"pssst."

They turned and saw Flayn beckoning them from the steps to the third floor.

With no one in the hall, Byleth turned and quickly went up the steps. At the top there was a small hall with two doors, one, he was told, lead to the Archbishop's private quarters, the other to the quarters Flayn shared with her brother. One of these doors was open, and they presumed Flayn was waiting beyond it.

However, Flayn was still not there. There were more doors, however, and when they approached one, it was suddenly opened and Byleth was dragged inside. 

* * *

_**Mako's Postscript: **That is in fact where this scene ends. Whyever Flayn dragged Byleth away from where gossiping eyes can see is up to you._


	2. BylethClaudeGoldenDeer Humor

_**Mako's Message: **__Hoo boy... so, this one goes in second even though I wrote like... a half dozen ahead of it, because it's special(and I wanted to justify that Claude tag asap). You see, this isn't my normal style of story, but it was written from a prompt given to me by the voice of Claude himself, Joe Zieja._

* * *

#2 - "Stress Relief"

"Hey Teach!"

Byleth looked up at Claude's greeting, eyes wide and slightly manic, "Yes?"

"You look pretty busy," he said, looking over the contents of the Professor's desk, which seemed to be a mess of essays, maps with troop movements drawn onto them with...varying degrees of effectiveness, a note from Rhea, no less than three from Seteth, and what seemed to be a request from a student to transfer into Byleth's House. "Anything I can help you with?"

Byleth looked from Claude back to their desk, "I… don't think there's anything you could help with that I can let you help with."

"Well, then maybe I can steal you away to help you de-stress?"

"I really don't think I have the time right-"

"And that's why I'm stealing you," Claude said, unceremoniously taking the papers from the Professor and placing them out of their reach, then grabbing them by the hand and pulling them away.

"Claude, I said- Oh fine" they sighed as they let the schemer drag them away from their work.

Claude was a bit of a jokester, and very much a schemer, but (as far as they could tell at least), he always had the best of intentions, so they followed along as they were pulled across the campus towards the greenhouses.

Just before they got to the steps, Claude let go of their hand, turned, ducked down, and grabbed them around the knees, "Claude?!" they cried as they were lifted off their feet.

"Get ready for the best part, Teach!" he yelled as he started spinning them both around.

"You have THREE SECONDS -" once around, "-to put me down-" twice, "-before I-"

"YEET!"

"CLAUDE!" Byleth screamed as they were flung off the ledge, the beginnings of regicide forming in their mind. Sothis however, was preparing to undo this with a heavy sigh, when, instead of impacting the flagstones, they hit something that felt… like water? But not wet?

They came to a stop before their head sank below whatever they'd been tossed into, and all the anger left them as confusion and curiosity took it's place. They were half sunk into a mass of...they were kind of like balls, but they were unable to identify what they were made of. They felt like they were filled with sand however. They squeezed them, and they deformed to a point, giving greater resistance the more it was squeezed. Struggling to stand, or at least sit up properly, they stopped again when Claude spoke, "Like it? A merchant in town was trying to sell these, but had only managed to sell a few to some kids. They seemed fun though so I took them all off his hands for a big discount. Everybody helped me carry them up here and fill this big tub with them."

Byleth looked around and saw all the Golden Deer students standing around, with looks ranging from great amusement to horror. That latter of which belonged to Marrianne, who, when Byleth met her eyes squeaked out, "I didn't know he was going to throw you in!"

Hilda leaned on the rim, "Gotta say, I was doubting his plan, but your reactions were _totally_ worth it."

"You ARE okay, aren't you Professor?" Ignatz said, "When Claude said he'd toss you in I wasn't expecting, well, THAT."

"It looked like fun though!" Raphael said, "Wasn't it professor? If you want to go again I bet I could throw you even hi-"

"NO!" Byleth said, their face stern.

"Oh, don't be like that," Claude said, leaning on the edge of the tub, "We did all this so you could relax. Even Raphael could tell you were stressed to the point of breaking." he picked up one of the weird sand balls and said, "These are supposed to be fun and relaxing."

Byleth had to admit, it was oddly relaxing, feeling the things squish and give, though it was lessened by the fact that getting back on their feet was proving difficult if not impossible.

"So, once you've had a nice relaxing break in there, listening to the pond and smelling the flowers in the greenhouse," Hilda elaborated, "The dinning hall is serving iced cream!"

"Alright," Byleth relented, "This isn't so bad." Claude and the rest of the class smiled, some more relieved their teacher wasn't upset with them, "But could you help me get my feet under me," they asked, holding both arms out to Claude.

"Sure," he reached over and clasped hands with Byleth.

And immediately realized his mistake.

"Yoink!"

"Aghppffff!" Claude's cry was muffled as he was dragged under and the rest of the class burst out laughing.


	3. EdelgardHubertByleth HumorFriendship

_**Mako's Message: **__If you've played the game you know this pain.  
_

* * *

#3 – _Damn Kids_

Edelgard walked across the grass outside of the dormitories, with Hubert following her two steps behind, like an overly menacing shadow.

Ahead of them, she saw her Professor talking with Linhardt, who was shaking his head at something. Byleth nodded then started walking towards them, and Edelgard noticed the large canvas bag they were carrying. She considered going over and speaking with them...but she did have something she needed to check on in the library. Plus Hubert was already abnormally prickly for some reason and she didn't want to start him on another lecture about trusting people too much…

But then Byleth spotted them and approached, taking the choice of whether to converse with them out of her hands.

"Greetings Professor," she said cheerfully. She could hear Hubert let out a sigh that was more of a growl though.

"Edelgard," Byleth said shortly, as they fished around in the bag. They removed a whetstone fitted into an ornate grip and held it up, "Is this yours?"

"Oh, no that's not mine."

Instantly the whetstone went back into the bag and they pulled out a map of the Empire, which had some odd markings on it. She wanted to take a look at it, but before she could take it she made the mistake of saying, "No," and it went back in the bag before she could blink.

"What about this?" They asked, retrieving a small box that, from the scent, contained a tea of some sort.

"Oh, no, that's not-"

"Hubert?" they asked, holding it out towards them.

"Mine? Of course not."

Byleth glowered into the bag, then after I a moment, "I don't suppose this eagle quill pen is either of yours, then?"

"Oh, no, that's-

"I didn't think so." They sighed then said, "Well, I know this dagger isn't either of yours, it has a crest from one of the families of Faerghus on it, I just don't know which one," taking the dagger out to show them.

Edelgard's eyes lit up in shock and a slight tinge of red touched her cheeks, "That IS mine, actually, I hadn't realized I dropped it," she said holding out her hand.

Hubert seemed to be trying his best to not sneer as Byleth handed the dagger back. "Well, I'm glad I was able to get one of these back to their-" they stopped abruptly and strode over to a nearby bush, crouched down and stood up with a book clenched in their hand. Their face a perfectly expressionless mask, "Did either of you see who left this?"

Both Edelgard and Hubert shook their heads.

"Right then. Have a good day," and walked off.

"Hmm..." Edelgard tilted her head into her hand, "The Professor seems rather annoyed..."

"Yes..." Hubert said, "Though they've only been here a short while. Whose to say they aren't prone to wild changes of temperament?"

Edelgard pursed her lips as she considered that, "No, I don't think that could be the case. Even if Rhea didn't know, if Jeralt's reputation is to be believed he wouldn't have allowed them to be a Professor here if that was the case." She shook her head as if to physically purge the distraction from her brain, "In any case, we have business to attend to in the library."

The next day, however, a hint at what may be boiling under the surface of their new professor's nearly expressionless face greeted them when they walked into the dinning hall for breakfast.

As soon as they entered, their eyes were drawn to an argument Byleth was having with Seteth. Presumedly about the table set up beside them, that was covered in various items, including, at a glace, the book they'd found as well as the writing quill. Or more specifically the sign that was hung up behind the table reading, "COME GET YOUR SHIT".

Hubert made a noise of disgust, while Edelgard shook her head, hand covering her face to hide her smile.


	4. BylethHannaman HorrorHumor

_**Mako's Message:** Look...I have all these backlogged and no one is actually... one person is following this at the moment, so why not dump the content quickly so the people can have a good idea of what to expect later? And yes, this ichapter is short. That's kind of the idea of this story._

* * *

**#4 – ****_Weaponized WHAT?!_**

"May I ask why you seem to be watching Bernadetta so intensely?"

The seemingly calm way Byleth sat up and the widening of their eyes didn't hint at the shock they actually felt. They looked up at Professor Hannaman before they relaxed and turned back to Bernadetta, sitting in the far corner of the dining hall, long after most had eaten. "I'm thinking of ways to weaponize her anxiety."

Taking a half step back, putting his hand to his heart, and gaping at them with wide eyes, Hannaman's shock at Byleth's statement was far more open, "You're trying to WHAT?"

Byleth put their hand to their chin as they explained their train of thought, "She hates being around other people, frequently keeping odd hours simply to accomplish normal tasks without risking running into anyone. For example, she'll go out in the dead of night to do chores or other tasks if possible. And when she's approached unexpectedly her first instinct is to flee, which she's quite good at; very nimble. She prefers to use a bow in combat because she wants to be as far from her enemies as possible. If I could get her to train with a sword and dagger, and train to use her speed and agility to avoid people in the first place, she could make a good thief.

And if I could get her to have a 'fight' response instead of a 'flight' response she could even make a good assassin."

"An assassin? Bernadetta? I can't imagine someone so meek and frightened having the capability to do the work of an assassin."

Byleth shrugged, "It's a long shot, I admit, but it could work if I convince her that no one could speak to her, let alone hurt her, if she killed them first."


	5. BylethEdelgardHubert ComfortDramaFriends

_**Mako's Message: **Not that it needs to be said, but these aren't being posted in the order I wrote them. This happens to be one of the older ones, and one of my favorites. I also didn't know what I was going to title it until about five minute ago. I thought, "I bet 'Edge of Dawn' will inspire me." Twenty seconds in and I had my title._

* * *

_**#5 – **__Cherished halls and drunken daze..._

"It was incredibly irresponsible of you to allow Lady Edelgard to drink like that. I expected better from a Professor."

Byleth's habitually blank expression seemed to show regret, or perhaps even shame, but that might have just been what Hubert expected to see.

"They ownee gave me wht I asskd for."

"I admit I didn't realize how low her tolerance was."

"Isnot yuur fault. I want ted to have fun fur once. Annai did. Ss doent lissen tuh Hubie." There was a pause as Edelgard looked around, "Wait. Wrr are we goin?"

"We are taking you back to your quarters."

"But thh pparrty..."

"I cannot allow you to stay in public in such a state."

"I'm going to have to agree. I'm sure you'd be more upset with us for allowing you to be seen like this, than you will be for missing the rest of the party."

"Damn et. I hate dis. I want to huv fin with yoo all. Ah wunt tuh en-joy schule. But I kent. I hate crests. Ah hate te church.-" Hubert stopped and went rigid. "-Iz all bullshet. It's a sham." Fortunately they were nearly at the door to Edelgard's room and Byleth was able to get her the remaining steps on their own. "Fugz the church," Edelgard drunkenly continued, and as Byleth opened the door she straightened up and turned to face them, raising one finger as if she was gearing up for a long lecture, "Lemmee tell you why-"

"Shh," Byleth said and guided her the final few steps to her bed, "You can tell me later. For now, drink this," they produced a small bottle like you might see in any medicine shop, "And get some sleep."

Edelgard put the bottle to her lips without question and quickly drank the contents, "Bleh! That's terrible."

"I know. My father told me it was intentional, so people wouldn't rely on it."

"Whit is it?"

"Something to help you sleep, and not be hungover in the morning."

"Mmm..." Edelgard seemed to be drifting off already, and she pulled her pillow to her before falling sideways onto the bed and nuzzling into it.

"She wont remember this tomorrow. Not sure if it's a side-effect of the medicine or an intended one, but it does the job quite well." Byleth took the bottle from Edelgard's hands as her breathing slowly shifted to the even pattern of sleep. They looked it over for a moment then, deciding it was worth reusing, put it back in it's pouch. "Now put that rag away before you make me regret giving it back to you. Besides, do you really think there's anything you could have soaked it in that would subdue me fast enough?"

A sudden scuff of leather on stone gave away the sudden stop of Hubert's approach.

"You also can't cast magic precisely enough to not hit your Lady as well. And of course knives are messy. And frankly you're just not strong enough for that either."

They turned as they stood to face Hubert, with a look of mixed rage and fear on his face. "I'd have hoped you'd have realized I'm no enemy of you by now. I'm well aware of how she feels about the Church. When the time comes, I will stand with her."

Byleth walked towards the door and stopped just outside, their hand on the door, "Now why don't we leave her to sleep?"

Hubert turned and, almost back to his normal composure, walked out into the hall. He turned to regard Byleth with intense scrutiny, looking for even the smallest crack in their expression or mannerism that would betray the lie. "Lady Edelgard thinks highly of you. Far higher than she should in my opinion. Should you betray her I assure you my vengeance upon you will be prolonged and agonizing."

Byleth smiled ever so slightly, "I expect nothing less of you."


	6. DorotheaBylethEdelgard DramaTragedy

_**Mako's Message: **_Whoops. Almost didn't upload today. No reason not to while I have a backlog, right? Anyway, this one is actually the FIRST one of these I wrote. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

_**#6 – **__Someone To Lean On_

"Dorothea," Byleth said, pulling her aside and ushering the other students to continue following Rhea into the tomb, "I need to ask something of you."

Dorothea blinked and tilted her head with a frown, "What is it Professor?"

Byleth looked after the others, seeming to wait until they were a little further in, "I need you to promise me that you'll stay with Edelgard."

Dorothea pulled back, with a longer blink, "What do you mean?"

Byleth looked back to her, "Stay by her side. Support her. Be there for her. No matter what happens."

A confused smile formed on her face, "Of course I will Professor. Why wouldn'-"

"No matter what. No. Matter. What."

The intensity behind her Professor's eyes actually frightened Dorothea. And not just that, the implications; they knew something. Something was going to happen, and whatever it was, it wasn't gong to be good.

"Ye- Yes Professor. I promise."

Byleth let out the slightest of sighs and their body seemed to relax, just a bit, "Good."

0-0-0

"Edelgard, did you know about this?"

"I did. In fact, I ordered it. I am the Flame Emperor."

Dorothea's eyes went wide and her eyes shot to Byleth, who seemed as unemotional as the day they came to Garreg Mach. It was almost as frightening as the expression they'd worn mere minutes ago, but as the seconds passed, she realized this is what they'd meant.

0-0-0

Not knowing what else to do, she'd kept out of the battle, creeping along the wall towards the entrance where Edelgard stood. Now she stood closer than she hoped anyone realized, as her Professor held Edelgard at sword point while Rhea approached. The battle had been taxing for both of them, and Edelgard stood defiant, but it was clear that only Byleth still had the strength to continue fighting.

Rhea now stood with the Professor, and still no one seemed to notice how close Dorothea stood. The Archbishop looked at Edelgard with a fury that terrified Dorothea. A fury that bordered on madness.

Dorothea edged closer, not really knowing why, but trusting in her teacher and determined to uphold the promise they'd asked of her.

Even as Rhea ordered her executed for crimes against the church, Edelgard's eyes stayed on their professor's, and they held hope.

For their part, Byleth's face held no emotion. A perfectly blank slate looked back. And then the sword pulled back, and was slowly raised to strike.

Edelgard's eyes tightened as she realized Byleth's decision, "Then I must leave."

And in that moment, Hubert warped to Edelgard's side, and Byleth's eyes snapped to Dorothea with a renewed intensity that far outshone what had been earlier.

The sword was raised higher, higher than it needed to be, "Edie!"

Edelgard's head twisted towards Dorothea in shock and confusion as her friend hurled herself onto her, wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace.

Hubert's lip curled in a rage at this wrench in their plans, but without any time to do anything else, he warped his Emperor and the other girl away, along with himself, only a second before the sword swung through the space they'd left.


	7. EdelgardByleth RomanceComfort

_**Mako's Message: **"Mako, why are you posting fanfics at four in the morning?" you may be asking. Well, that's because I've lost control of my life.  
Anyway, this one is fresh off the press, so to speak. Though it's been one I've been wanting to write for a few months now, after being inspired by another story with a similar setting, but where a storm forces them to stop. I would have liked to added more detail, but it didn't work out with some of the artistic choices I made with this story...so I didn't. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

_**#7 **__– Last Chances_

Edelgard looked over at Byleth, wondering why they had been silent since leaving Enbarr. And also why they sat across from them, opposed to beside them as they had on the way there. They'd been happy to go with her when she asked, but ever since her coronation she'd been… She wanted to say distant but that wasn't really it. They seemed lost in thought. Witnessing your student being crowned Emperor without warning would surely give one a lot to think about. They were nearly at the Adrestian border though, and she'd have hoped they'd have thought about it enough to say something by now. If only they had the time to stop at nice Inn and have a good meal together. Then maybe...

She resisted the urge to sigh as she turned her gaze from her Teacher to the scenery outside, listening to the clopping of the horses hooves on the hard packed dirt road and the rattling of the carriage. The road was rougher than she'd like. Especially considering how important this road was. She'd have to remember to make sure the roads were properly maintained and maybe even rebuild some of them. That wasn't going to be until quite a ways into the future however.

She took a deep breath but did not sigh.

"We still have to cross into Alliance territory before we reach the Monastery grounds, correct?"

Edelgard snapped back around to look at them, ready to say oh so many things, but was silenced by the blank, unblinking, possibly even bored look her Teacher was giving her. "Ah...yes. We will be going that way still."

Byleth made the slightest of, "hm"s and nodded their head before turning to stare out the window in silence again.

Edelgard stared at them in silence, though inside her head she was screaming her frustration into the sky.

0-0-0-0

However much time had passed, Edelgard didn't know. She'd lapsed into a state of obliviousness, that may or may have been broken once or twice by Hubert bringing his horse next to the carriage to give a report from their scout riders and make sure she had everything she needed. Only one thing managed to snap her out of it; Byleth's voice.

"We're about to cross into Alliance Territory."

Edelgard blinked at the statement, not sure she'd really heard it, before turning to see Byleth still staring out the window. "Yes, we are," Edelgard responded, not sure how else to respond. She almost turned back to her own window, not expecting her Teacher to say anything else and wondering what it was about the Alliance that was so interesting to her. But then they spoke again.

"Do you think it would be fair to say that you have no power here? You're the Emperor of Adrestia, not of the Alliance, after all."

Edelgard allowed herself a small frown as she considered what Byleth said, "I...suppose that is true. In that I have no right to make commands or demands to anyone I didn't bring with me from Adrestia."

"Do you think I have any power here? I'm only your Professor after all, and we're not on the monastery grounds."

Though she had no idea where they were going with this, Edelgard wasn't going to let this conversation die, "Well, you are technically here as a representative of the Church to witness my coronation, but there's certainly no one here who'd have any reason to obey anything you told them to do outside of Hubert and I, and even then only if it had relevance to our schooling. Or if I told them to, such as if we were to be attacked by bandits or similar."

Byleth looked to the ceiling of the carriage, "'A representative of the church' hm? So, that would certainly mean I was under no obligation to obey your orders. Wouldn't you say? And being by myself here, I have no way to make you do anything either."

Edelgard blinked and then shook her head, "I have to admit I'm not really following your train of thought. What are you trying to get at?"

Byleth took a deep breath and then released it, "I'm trying to decide if either of us is under the power of the other right now."

"Under the other's power? Why?"

"I have a feeling that things are going to change soon." When Byleth looked back at her, the expressionless mask they always seemed to wear had cracked. There was a pain and sadness in their eyes that nearly took her breath away. But after the brunt of it had washed over her, she could see loneliness, fear, exhaustion, want, and...something she was maybe only wanting to see. But regardless of whether she was reading this torrent of emotion correctly or not, she was sure that her Beloved Teacher could not have bared themselves to her any more if they'd stripped off all their clothes. "With everything that's been happening, and now you taking the throne...I can't shake this feeling that we might not have much time left."

Edelgard's blood chilled at their words, wondering just how much that keen mind of theirs had put together...and how right they were.

Byleth stood and turned to sit on the bench beside Edelgard. "Do you get that feeling?" they asked, taking her hand, "That something is looming just over the horizon? That we might never have a moment like this again?"

Edelgard no longer felt cold.

"Hubert!" she called through the window.

"Yes, Lady Edelgard?"

"I'm tired and would like to rest. Make sure I'm not disturbed."

"Of course my Lady."

She turned back to Byleth and said, "I too worry that we might not have much time left," while covering their hand in hers, "And, if you think we should make the most of this moment we have, then I fully agree." Byleth closed their eyes and leaned forward, almost touching their forehead to hers, and Edelgard, struggling to keep her breath, kissed them.

0-0-0-0

Edelgard and Byleth lay together across the bench of the carriage, knowing they were nearing the monastery. That soon their time together was going to end. When the familiar sounds and smells of Garreg Mach reached them they separated and made themselves presentable. Only a few minutes after they were satisfied did the carriage come to a stop. Edelgard was the one to open the door and step out. Hubert stood waiting for her, and once Byleth stepped out as well sent the carriage away.

Byleth's face was once again a barely readable mask as they appraoched them, "Edelagrd, Hubert. It was an honor to bear witness to the coronation of the new Adrestian Emperor. Edelgard has already asked me to make no mention of her new status until it can be formally announced. On that note, classes will be held as usual tomorrow morning, so be sure to get some rest. The Goddess knows I couldn't, unlike Edelgard here. Something about the rattling just wouldn't let me find any peace. Good night.

Hubert watched them go before saying, "Have you determined if they will walk your path?"

Without a change of expression she said, "I fully believe that they wish to, but I suspect the Professor will not be with us for much longer.


	8. EdelgardByleth TragedyRomance

_**Mako's Message: **__I don't know why I chose this one to post... It's one of my favorites though. For someone who loves Edeleth, I sure seem to write tragic versions of it. It'll probablly be worth it in the end though. Probably. Oh well... I'm gonna need to put some real work in tomorrow so I don't run out of these anytime soon._

* * *

#**8 - **_An Idyllic End_

In the throne room of the palace at the imperial capital of Enbarr, a long and hard fought battle was over.

Edelgard struggled to keep herself from falling, holding herself up with her sword, both hands wrapped around it's handle, her ax lay abandoned on the ground, having grown too weary to wield it's great power what felt like ages ago. The exhaustion she felt was almost worse than the defeat itself. The few wounds she sustained were minor, and she doubted even all of them together would be life threatening, unless she intentionally left them uncleaned and untreated. Truly, despite the heavy stakes, including their own life, Byleth, her treasured Teacher, seemed to be avoiding any fatal blows, pushing only hard enough to make sure she could not retreat. It was hard for her to believe, but it felt like they were seeking only to subdue her, despite the fact that no one else would accept anything less than her immediate execution.

Still, she found herself beaten, weary and weak, struggling simply to not collapse onto the floor.

Byleth stood before her, their face a mask of indifference. It had been a long time since she'd seen a real expression on their face, and she regretted the possibility that it was her own actions that had reverted them back to this. Not that it mattered.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, searching for words that would say the most in the seconds she surely had left. She looked up when the steps stopped in front of her, prepared to speak her last words, only to be stopped short at the sight of a small bottle being held out to her. She looked at it, confused, because surely it wasn't some healing concoction, but what else could they be offering at a time like this?

"I offer you a peaceful death."

Ah. Poison.

She gripped her sword tighter with one hand and used the other to brush the offering away, "I may be defeated, but I still have too much pride to end my own life."

"It is the bottle or the sword, Edie, and if you drink this all your pain will go away, your body will relax, fall asleep, and then your heart will stop beating. The sword will be far less pleasant."

"I don't care," she said turning her head away, "A death in combat standing for my ideals is far preferable than giving up to die in my sleep."

Byleth didn't respond at first, but after a moment they said, "If you insist on dying by my actions..."

At the sound of the stopper being removed, she turned her eyes back only to have them widen in shock as Byleth put the bottle to their own lips and drained the bottle. They grabbed her chin while she still gaped in shock and leaned to kiss her. The sensation of their lips against hers, something she'd hesitated to even imagine at the best of time, almost blinded her to the poison flowing into her mouth. The kiss went on longer than necessary to simply force the poison on her, and when it did she swallowed.

If that was the chosen punishment from her Teacher, then so be it.

Byleth, still gripping her chin, wiped away a stray drop from her lips before standing and stepping to her side.

"Stand," they said, putting a hand under her arm and lifting. Utterly defeated and accepting her fate as a dead woman walking, she followed Byleth's urging to stand and walk with them to the steps leading to the throne, where they sat and brought her down gently to lay in their arms, head resting on their chest. It had been a long time since she had felt like crying, but embraced as she was, feeling like the student she was nearly six years ago, she couldn't help feeling like maybe this wasn't such a bad ending for her.

The pain was already leaving her.

Byleth held her close, stroking her hair and rocking her gently, "I want you to listen to me, and try to imagine what I say."

"Yes Professor," she said reflexively, starting to feel just the slightest bit drowsy.

"I want you to imagine a house, a small one, only one bedroom, but one is enough for us," the implication made her eyes widen, and almost broke through the sleepiness she felt, "And set by a lake. Can you see it?"

"I know just the place," she said, nestling into their beloved professor's arms.

"It's far from Enbarr, but messengers seeking your counsel arrive all the same, even though you've abdicated the throne."

Edelgard's eyes opened wide as she gasped, though they closed again with a smile on her face.

"We take long walks around the lake almost every day, or we ride through the hills, and sometimes we sit together on a small dock, dangling our toes in the water while I catch fish for our dinner."

Contended noises came from the nearly sleeping woman, letting Byleth know they'd been heard.

"As time passes the messengers become fewer and fewer, leaving us to each other, for the rest of our days…"

Byleth could feel the steady but increasingly shallow breath from their former student, assuring them the poison was swiftly doing it's job. They leaned down and placed a soft kiss to her temple, before whispering in her ear, "Farewell, El."

Byleth turned their face to the ceiling, not willing to look upon the dying girl. Though their face might as well have been a porcelain mask, tears formed at the corner of their eyes, threatening to spill across their cheeks.

Seteth was the first to approach, not sure what to say, but decided on what he was sure was the most pressing issue, "Will you be okay?"

Byleth turned to have him and the tears spilled down their cheeks, "I'll be fine. It had to be done."

Though they were obviously distraught, Seteth felt he needed to push further, to be sure he was understood, "I do mean from the poison. Are you sure you didn't swallow any? Do you need an antidote? Should we bring a healer?"

Byleth coughed in what Seteth thought might have been a laugh, though he had no idea what could be found humorous in this situation.

"I will be fine Seteth. It's not normally a poison, but a medicine. It helps one to sleep and relaxes the muscles. In a high enough dose however, it forces you to sleep and will relax all your muscles until even your heart stops beating. But even if it does cause me to fall asleep, my heart was never beating in the first place so I'm sure I'll be fine."


	9. BylethSothisEdelgard FriendshipRomance

_**Mako's Message:**_ _Well, that didn't go as planned. This was originally only like...three sentences, and I didn't know what to build around that to make it worth posting. But then inspiriration struck and I like how it turned out.  
_

* * *

**#9 - **_What Fuels The Fire_

The hall was filled with the students of Garreg Mach. Talking, laughing, eating, and several dancing. Byleth stood, calmly, silently, nearly motionless among the crowd. They'd be noticed soon enough, and then Sothis would get to dance to her heart's content. But Byleth didn't enjoy it nearly as much, so they were content to endure her whining until someone, usually Claude, pulled them onto the dance floor.

"I am _not_ whining!"

"Pleading then?"

"Pleading? I shouldn't even have to ASK you, after all I've done for you. You know how much I love to dance. You should just go on the dance floor and find a partner on your own.

"It's difficult to observe everyone when dancing. And I know you enjoy seeing everyone happy and safe almost as much as I do."

"That is true...but I would enjoy _experiencing_ their joy from among them even more so." There was a brief pause before she continued, "Look! Bernadetta has decided to attend. Why don't you go and ask her to dance? No one would have an easier time of it than you."

Bernadetta didn't always attend this dance, but when she did more often then not she'd be enjoying herself by the end of it if someone said just the right things. Perhaps asking her to dance would be good way to encourage her out of her shell. Byleth let out a "hmm" as they considered how to approach her without scaring her back to her room, and that brought him to someone's attention.

"Oh, hello Professor Eisner! I didn't see you standing there. Are you enjoying yourself?"

They gave the student a slight smile and nodded.

An eager smile bloomed on her face, "Will you be dancing?"

"Of course they will." And there it was. Byleth turned to see Claude striding up to them. "If you're quick," he added, taking Byleth's hand with a wink, "you can have a dance with them after I'm done"

By the time they reached the dance floor however, the song was half over, "Oh Phooey! And Claude is such an excellent dance partner! You simply must ask for a second dance when this song ends."

"That doesn't seem fair to everyone else waiting for their turn."

"I swear to you Byleth, if you don't ask Claude for another dance I will turn back time to dance again and keep turning it back until I have danced my fill!"

The strain of turning back time was far less when Sothis herself was doing it, and the physical exhaustion wouldn't be much worse than dancing the entirety of the ball, but the mental exhaustion… What was only a few hours to everyone else could end up feeling like a whole day to them. "Claude," Byleth said, "I feel like we were cheated out of a full dance. Would you be my partner for the next one as well?"

Claude's face brightened, "Professor! Another dance? I wouldn't want to make anyone think there was anything going on between us," Byleth's face went blanker than usual, "But if you insist how could I refuse?"

"Excellent!," Sothis cheered, clapping her hands, "Oh I so enjoy this!"

Byleth's face bore a soft smile as they danced with Claude again, and then accepted a dance request from the next student, and the next, and the next, all through the night. They might have gotten tired, but the joy in Sothis' voice as they danced kept them energized. As the revelry was starting to end, and a few students had already retired for the night, they'd finally danced with nearly every student who'd wanted to. "Ah. And here is the one you've been wanting to dance with."

Byleth turned to see Edelgard stepping around another student, Hubert a ways behind her looking as nettled as usual. "Professor," they said, politely nodding their head, "I'd wanted to have a dance with you, but you seemed content to stay on the sidelines and I didn't want to intrude." She gave them an amused smile, "But by the time I noticed you'd taken to the dance floor you already had half the school lined up."

"Well," they said, extending their hand, "I always have time for one last dance with my best student."

Edelgard's face brightened as she took their hand, "I'm quite pleased to hear it."

Their dance was a bit grander the ones either had had earlier in the night. With the crowd thinned they were able to take bigger steps at greater speed, and cover more ground with little worry about colliding with any of the other dancers. Throughout the night, Edelgard had danced with almost as many people as Byleth had, and throughout she'd worn a pleasant smile, sometimes even laughing at a joke her partner had made, but while it may have been genuine at times, it still felt as if it had been affixed there out of politeness and obligation. But now, as they spun across the dance floor the smile on her face was bigger than any Byleth had seen on her tonight.

"Byleth," Sothis cautioned, "don't..."

"This is one of my most prized memories, and one I strive to recreate every time. Your face, smiling and carefree, surrounded by friends, gives me the strength to follow my path. No matter how hard it may be to try again, this memory drives me to do it. It doesn't matter if I save the world when you're not in it, and saving you isn't really saving you when you're haunted by the ones you sacrificed. But this night, with you, is all I need to remind me why I keep trying. Because this is worth it. You're worth it."

Sothis sighed, "Nothing good will come of this."

The expression on Edelgard's face froze for a moment, and then slowly crumbled as their dance lost all it's momentum. The utter delight was replaced with confusion and moved on to horror. Byleth watched the change sadly from arms length, as they hadn't completed the steps to bring them back together, their hands still clasped only because Edelgard was clearly too distracted to let go. He did that for her.

"I should take my leave for the night," they said, giving a polite bow before turning and leaving.

"We should go back. You shouldn't have said that," Sothis commented.

"No. We'll leave it. See how it plays out."

It was habit, more than anything else, that brought him to the Goddess Tower after leaving the Dance. They wandered inside anyway, not expecting to meet anyone this time. The view from the top was nice at least. Before they could climb the first set of steps however, a breathless voice called out to them.

"Professor!"


	10. BylethBernieDoroEl CrossoverHumor

**_Mako's Message: _**_Sup? Believe it or not I still haven't posted everything I had backlogged when I started this. Just been busy and...distracted._

_Not a whole lot to say about this, aside from it being like...almost three weeks late for a celebration of Byleth coming to Super Smash Bros. I don't know if I'll do anything more like this, depends on the reception. Which, based on the review page, is likely to be non-existent. Oh well._

_Oh, there's a very small but fairly important detail in one of these that's different from everything else I've written here. It might go unnoticed or it might stick out like a sore thumb.  
_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**#10A** – Souvenir

The knock at the door startled Bernadetta so badly she nearly dropped her embroidery.

"W- Who is it?!"

"It's your Professor."

Her face immediately brightened, "Professor!" she went up to the door, "How was your trip?"

"It was very interesting. I met many different types of people. It's...hard to explain though."

Her brows creased, "How so?"

There was a long pause before the Professor said, "I wouldn't know where to start."

"Oh..." Bernadetta deflated a bit.

"I brought you a gift though."

"Oh!" she unlocked the door and opened it just enough for her Teacher to slip inside.

"You'll need to be very careful with this, and follow some very specific rules," they said, walking over to Bernadetta's desk and placing a tall box on it. "Now, the first is that this can be very dangerous, so it's good that you don't have guests in your room often."

"Da-dangerous?" she squeaked, already shivering.

"Yes. To that effect, despite how small it might seem, do NOT move it to a different pot. Under ANY circumstances. These will grow to fit their container, and if given the chance they can become massive."

"Oh- okay," she said, edging a little closer, her fear slowly giving out to curiosity, "What is it?"

Byleth gave her one of their best smiles, "Something I hope will be right up your alley." They turned and carefully pulled the top of the box off, revealing a small pot with a large...bulb? The bulb was mostly red with white spots and thick white ridge across the middle. Bernadetta's fear was almost completely overridden by a desire to know more about this strange plant. The bulb subtly pulsed and then the ridges split open, revealing what looked like very sharp, almost conical, teeth. She recoiled slightly, but didn't retreat as the bulb raised up from the pot, it's stem extending upwards. The pulp tilted perpendicular to the stem and turned left and right, almost as if it was looking around, before retracting and leaving the bulb resting on the lip of the pot.

In a mix of horror and wonder, she asked, "What is that."

"It's a Piranha Plant," Byleth said, as if starting an ordinary lecture in class, "I'm told there are several dozen varieties of them., They prefer to live in pipes, hollowed tree trunks, tunnels, and pots, but will sometimes grow in open dirt. They can be very active and seem more like an animal at times. They'll snap at anything that comes near. Allow me to demonstrate," Byleth pulled out a rolled up cloth, and from within withdrew a dead mouse, he waved it in front of the plant. The plant pulled back, almost like a snake, and then Byleth tossed the mouse at it. It struck like lightning, it's jaws snapping loudly around the mouse. It pulsed again and then retracted almost fully into the pot.

"Are… are you SURE that's a plant, Professor?"

There was a noticeable pause and then they said, "Yes. I asked that question myself, but I was assured by an expert that their anatomy has far more in common with plants than animals, though I didn't have an opportunity to dissect one myself."

"Where did you get this? I didn't think anything like it existed in Fodland..."

Byleth pursed their lips, "I didn't get it from Fodland. I actually hired a mercenary from another world to get it for me."

Bernadetta's eyes went wide, "Another world?"

Byleth looked to the door, and after a moment said, "Yes, that's where I was. It's difficult to explain, but I went to a world that was like Garreg Mach for other worlds. A crossroads of sort. I saw many people from many different worlds; some like ours, some so different I can barely explain them." They sat at the table and picked up the Plant's pot and set it on their lap, and started stroking it as if it were a cat. "There were actually a few mercenaries willing to take the job of getting this for me-"

Bernadetta pulled back just slightly, and seem prepared to do...something if the Plant tried to bite her Professor.

"-and I ended up picking one just because his voice reminded me of Claude."

Bernadetta burst out, "Are you sure that's safe professor?!"

"Hm?" They said, then followed her gaze to their hand on the Plant, "Oh. Yes. Mostly. They don't bite at anything much larger than their mouth. So as long as you keep your fingers away from it's teeth you should be fine. And they seem to like being pet. Viridi said it was because the pressure simulates being in a pipe. If you're worried about it biting you though, I'll give it to Edelgard. I'm sure she'd love something that'd eat mice."

"No!" Bernadetta said in a panic, "No, I want it. It's...amazing. You know I've loved carnivorous plants ever since I learned about them. And this is…" she reached out and stroked it's bulb as well, "the epitome of carnivorous plants. It's terrifying but incredibly fascinating. I'd love to keep and learn about it."

Byleth gave her another smile, "Excellent."

**#10B – **_Stowaway_

Dorothea slowly crept through the underbrush, trying her best to be quiet and remember the bits and pieces she'd overheard Shamir tell other's about how to be stealthy.

She didn't think she was doing too well, but her target hadn't escaped her yet so either she hadn't been noticed or it didn't care she was following it.

She honestly didn't know what it was. It was small, about the size of a cat...or more of a stuffed animal really, since that's what it most closely resembled. It was blue and white, with huge eyes. And it was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. She wasn't sure what she was trying to do. Catch it? Maybe. Watch and try and burn it's cuteness into her memory forever? Definitely.

"What are you doing?"

Dorothea startled and went ridged, but managed to not cry out and scare the creature.

"I'm following something," she said, waving her hand at her Professor to try and make them be quiet.

For a moment they stood staring back at them, then crouched down next to them and whispered, "What are you following."

She put her hand on their shoulder and turned them in the right direction while pointing out the creature frolicking in the stream.

Byleth's expression didn't change at first, but after a moment their brows knit together just the slightest bit...and then they went as wide as she'd ever seen them. "Oh."

Her eyes went wide as well as the implication of the professor's reaction hit her, "You know what that is?"

"I do." They said, standing up and dusting a bit of dirt and some leaves from their knee. "It shouldn't be here. Please keep an eye on it. I'll be back as quickly as I can, but it might take me awhile. Can you do that?"

Dorothea looked up at them, but then smiled and nodded, "Absolutely Professor. You can always count on me."

"Good."

Dorothea wasn't the best at measuring time, but she was sure she spent at least an hour waiting and watching. She didn't really mind though. It was adorable and seemed so happy to just swim and play in the water.

"Still have him?"

Dorothea was prepared this time, but she still startled. Slightly.

"Yes. It's just been playing in the stream."

"Good. How's your arm?"

Dorothea turned to look at them, "What?"

"Your throwing arm. How good are you at throwing things."

"Uh-" she hesitated, trying to understand why they were asking, "Pretty good? I think."

Byleth nodded, "Good." There was a strange, high pitched "whoop" sort of sound and then Byleth held out a ball that was...metal? She wasn't sure. But it was split neatly in half, with one side being red and the other white. "I need you to hit it with this."

She gasped, "What?! No! I'm not going to throw that at it!"

"If it wasn't important that you do it, then I'd do myself." They said to her, so please take the ball and throw it at the Osha- at that creature."

"Wait, what did you call it."

"If you throw it from here, you have a better chance of hitting it since it won't see it coming," they said, ignoring her question, "but you'll have a better chance of...success if you get closer and let it see you. Assuming it doesn't run that is."

Dorothea looked at her Professor with profound confusion, "What are you talking about? Success at what? Why do you want me to throw a metal ball at that adorable little animal?

Byleth took a deep breath, "It's a lot to explain so do it now before it leaves and I'll explain it- It's moving. Go!"

Their sudden shift to "Commander" mode had Dorothea running after the creature, ball in hand, before she even realized it. It hopped and skipped across the bank and almost seemed to glide across the surface of the water itself. She chased after it as it stopped and poked at a bush or plant, or dove into a deeper part of the stream, and then continued on.

Soon it turned and caught sight of her, "Wot?" it squeaked, tilting it's head curiously.

Dorothea took a moment to catch her breath, then raised the ball ready to throw. The creature's eyes landed on the ball and it cried, "Aw-sha!" and started bouncing from foot to foot.

Dorothea pulled her arm back and started to throw the ball. The creature went to the left, and she was able to correct her aim at the last second, sending the ball curving towards it. It squeaked when the ball hit it and-

Dorothea almost screamed, but was too shocked to do more than choke on the air she inhaled.

-the ball split open and red washed over the creature, which seemed to melt and turn translucent, before being sucked back into the ball which snapped closed and dropped to the ground. The white circle on the front of it now glowing a fierce red. The ball shook, and then shook again. Dorothea watched in a mix of fascination and horror as it shook a third time and went still. She started to move closer to the ball, when Byleth snuck up on her again, "Wait," they said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The ball suddenly shook a fourth time, and then, with a crystal clear and bell like chime, the light turned off and the ball completely stilled.

Not understanding anything that just happened, and in a bit of a daze, Dorothea asked, "What now?"

"Go pick it up," her teacher said, gesturing towards it.

She walked up, crouched down and picked up the ball, then stood up and turned around. She stared at the ball before looking up, "What happened to it?"

"It's in the ball. You can let it out now if you want."

"What? I… I don't understand any of this."

"It's complicated. I can explain later if you want. Well, I can explain it as best I can. I don't really understand it either. But for now, just go ahead and toss the ball on the ground."

Dorothea shook her head and gently tossed the ball into the air with a flick of her wrist. It spun slowly, but then, just before hitting the ground, righted itself and split open, the red light spilling out and coalescing back into the creature, "Aw-sha!" it called happily, then ran over to look up at her expectantly.

Her face lit up seeing it was okay, somehow, and it seemed to actually want to be around her, "Professor, you need to explain this because I have no idea what's going on."

Byleth sighed, "Alright, here's the quick version. That is an oshawott. It's a type of creature known as a 'pokemon'. The ball I gave you is called a 'pokeball' and they are used to capture, contain, transport, and heal pokemon. If someone demonstrates greater strength or pure intentions, a pokemon will bond with them in the hopes of being cared for and becoming stronger. So you're it's caretaker and trainer now. You can name it if you like, otherwise it'll respond to 'Oshawott'"

Dorothea looked back at her professor with wide eyes.

"It probably hitched a ride with me when I came back from my trip without me noticing it. If it seems like too big a responsibility. I can take it back with me. There's someone there who specializes in training pokemon, they gave me that ball, and they'll take good care of it. Otherwise…" they shrugged, "Just don't let Rhea or any of the Church Knights see it or the ball. Or anyone who'd tell them."

Dorothea crouched down and held out a hand to the oshawott, who hopped froward and grabbed her hand, smiling widely at her, "Aw-sha!"

"I will protect it with my life."

"Excellent." Byleth said, giving them a soft smile, "I'll get more detailed instructions for it's care and training the next time I'm there."

_**#10C – **__Edeleth_

Edelgard ran the thumb across the blade of the ax, checking for imperfections. Was it really worth it to spend the extra money to get a new one instead of repairing her current one?

"Greetings Edelgard!"

She looked up and turned to see Petra walking by, "Oh, Hello Petra. Heading into town?"

"I am." She said, turning a bit to face her as she kept walking, "Have a good morning."

"And you do the same," she said with a smile and a nod, then turned back to the ax. It was certainly above standard in quality… Eh. It was the church's money anyway.

"Wait…" Edelgard looked up as Petra came back towards them, "Wasn't I just seeing you in the Reception Hall? How were you getting here before me?"

Edelgard frowned, "I've been here for several minutes and haven't been to the Reception Hall today."

"Oh." Petra said, furrowing her brow, "I must have been imagining." Her smile reappeared, "I will be on my way then. Have a good day," and waved as she left.

Edelgard watched her go for a moment then turned to Hubert.

He knew the question on her mind without her having to voice it, "It seems unlikely for it to be a problem, but it would be worth investigating."

"I agree," Edelgard said, paying the shopkeeper for the ax, "It's probably just a mistake, but if someone is masquerading as me we must put a stop to it."

Together they headed for the Hall, hopefully whoever Petra saw would still be there.

When the were walking by the dining hall, Caspar walked out and stopped, staring at them. "Didn't you just leave out the other side?" he asked, pointing towards a far door.

Hubert narrowed his eyes, "Are you saying you just saw Lady Edelgard somewhere else?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you SURE it was her?"

"I-" Caspar ran his finger through his hair, "I thought it was. I didn't see them closely. Just their white hair and red clothes. Didn't think it could be anyone else."

"Curious," Hubert said, putting his hand to his chin.

"You said you just saw them?" Edelgard asked.

"Uh… yeah. Whoever it was went through just as I was finishing eating."

"We should hurry then."

"Hey wait! Are you trying to chase down an imposter?"

"Perhaps. We aren't sure. You're not the fist person to think they saw me when they didn't."

"I'll come with you then! Anybody impersonating Edelgard is going to get a beating!"

"That..." She wouldn't mind the extra help, but she didn't want Caspar tackling someone who might only be guilty of having white hair, "hopefully won't be nessecary. But, if you do see them somewhere else, please let us know."

"Will do," he said with salute, and then continued on his way.

Hubert and Edelgard hurried through the dining hall and out the door Caspar had pointed out. They stopped and looked around.

"Lady Edelgard, that way!" Hubert said, pointing towards a corner that lead to the dormitories.

"You saw them?" she asked as they hurried down.

"I saw white hair and red clothes."

Edelgard and Hubert reached the dormitories at just short of a run. She saw their quarry just beyond a group of students who all seemed to be watching the person go. Edelgard narrowed her eyes; the clothes seemed very familiar. They quickly caught up, as the person they were pursuing was only moving at a brisk walk.

"You there! Stop!" Hubert called.

Almost surprisingly, the person stopped and turn-

"Professor?"

Byleth looked at Edelgard curiously, "Is something wrong?"

Hubert, however, was fuming, "Why are you impersonating Lady Edelgard?! Explain yourself!"

Byleth blinked, then looked down at herself. "Oh. Damn… they swore this would change- Byleth shut her eyes and seemed to wince, "This is because I left straight from the match isn't it."

"What are you yammering on about?" Hubert demanded.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm sorry. I'll fix this. Just give me a few minutes," She chuckled softly, "This does explain all the odd looks I've been getting though." She held up a hand placatingly to Hubert, "The next time you see me I'll be back to normal. Do not worry." Then she turned and left.

"Hmmf. The Professor just keeps getting odder and odder," Hubert said.

"Hmm," Edelgard agreed, though, she had to admit she liked those colors on Her Teacher, and was debating stopping her from changing back.

* * *

_**Mako's Postscript: **__Ya know that thing where if you make a ring with your hands dogs'll stick their face into it? Think Bernie's Piranha Plant would do that?_


	11. BylethEdelgard Drama

_**Mako's Message: **__Yo. Nothing special about this. Just like it. Seemed like a fun scene. Hope you enjoy._

* * *

**#11 - **_All Or Nothing_

The Alliance forces halted their advance across the plains, far from the base of the hill the Imperial army held.

Standing at the forefront of the army was Edelgard, observing the Alliance's advance. Neither force had meant to meet here, though the Empire had the advantage of arriving first and choosing their battleground. She was here for one reason only, and that reason slowly walked out from Alliance soldiers.

Byleth, her cherished Teacher, walked alone towards them, dressed in the full regalia of their new title of Enlightened One. Their approach was slow and almost awkward. The ground was terribly uneven there, and the grass long. One of the reasons she'd chosen to defend this particular hill.

Once they had reached the halfway point between the two armies, they drew the Sword of the Creator, raised it high, then turned it's point to the ground and stuck it into the dirt. They did the same with a dagger. Then they continued their approach, stopping only when they were close enough for her to see the features of their face.

They locked eyes, but neither made any move. Moments passed before Byleth held a hand out to her.

Edelgard swallowed but made no other movement.

At first.

Byleth continued to stand in the field, up to their knees in grass, holding a hand out to her. No one moved. No one spoke. The hand being offered was not retracted.

Soon her resolve weakened.

She stepped forward as she gave an order for her soldiers to hold position. Before she went too far, she planted her ax in the ground, as well her sword. With determined grace she descended the hill and approached her former instructor.

When she was within reach, she reached out and took their hand...and slowly lowered it, "I wish we could be speaking under better circumstances."

"I'm just happy you came to speak with me."

Edelgard allowed herself a smile, "I admit, the opportunity was too great for me to pass up." But then the emotionless mask went back on, "Why have you asked to speak with me?"

Byleth's smile was small, but still as big as she'd ever remember seeing it, but their eyes were as sad as she'd ever seen as well, "Because I don't want to fight you."

"Are you surrendering then?" she asked, with raised eyebrows.

"I was hoping we could talk things out. Leave the armies aside and see if we can come to some sort of agreement, a unified path. One that will allow us both to achieve our goals."

"And what ARE your goals, my Teacher?"

They let out a single breath, that might have been a laugh, "Mostly, I want to end the war with as few people dying as possible, you included. So if you don't want to talk it out, or you can't accept my terms, we can just try to kill each other right here and let our armies walk away."

"Would your army surrender if you died here?"

"They have orders to."

Edelgard took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "You've never made things easy."

"It seems pretty easy to me."

"Choosing between killing you and staying on the path I set for myself, or giving it all up to stay by your side? That may be the hardest thing I've ever been asked to do."


	12. BylethBernadetta HorrorHumor

**_Mako's Message: _**_This was the first idea I had after starting _New Game+_. There's not much to it though, which is why I only got around to writing it now. It's also why I was debating doing these in sets like I did with _KAD_ or the Smash tribute. But enough stand alone that I decided on individual chapters. So this is what we get._

_Anyway. Enjoy!_

* * *

**#12** – Gameplay Vs Story

Two bandits broke off from the main force, circling around to try and take the hill from the side. An arrow struck the first bandit through the neck, hitting the jugular on the way in and passing straight through the other side. Blood gushed and he collapsed as his veins emptied. The second was struck through the eye, shattering the eye cavity, piercing the brain, and embedding in the skull. They screamed, clutching their destroyed eye and reeling back, then fell backwards continuing to scream.

Bernadetta lowered her bow, her face contorted in distress. "Why am I so good at this?!" she squealed.

Byleth approached calmly, "It's because you were an assassin in a previous life."

Bernadetta cringed, "Don't joke like that Professor! I could never be an assassin. Not in this life or any life!"

Byleth's usually blank face, if you knew what to look for, might have had a smirk on it, "Hmm." They pointed to their left, "Another group of bandits are approaching from the other side of the hill."

The distress and denial of her potential vanished from Bernadetta's face in an instant. She gave a quick nod and dashed to the group's rear, leapt deftly onto a large rock and loosed another two arrows in quick succession, earning her another two death cries and a pained whimper of her own, before her bow twanged twice more.

"Pft!" Sothis said, as they watched her. "You'd think she'd appreciate my gift. It took her years to acquire such skill before!"

Byleth allowed themselves a slightly larger smile, "True, but then she had time to get used it. Give her a few more months," they said, then went to check on their front line as Bernadetta, reluctantly but with ruthless efficiency, covered their flanks.


	13. EdelgardByleth Drama

_**Mako's Message: **I've not forgotten this story...I've just been trying to focus on other stories that need finishing. That said, this chapter has existed for MONTHS but I didn't know if I wanted to write more to this scenario and if I wanted to make it part of this chapter or a separate one... But recently I was given a reason to post it so I'm doing it. I'm posting this as is and maybe it'll get a Part 2 some time down the line or maybe it won't. I dunno. Follow and Review if you want more._

* * *

**#13 – **_A Different Path_

The moon shone down out of a clear sky onto Garreg Mach, clearly showing the damage five years of neglect had left on its halls. The grounds were silent and empty...or rather, nearly empty. A lone figure dressed in imperial red paced the Goddess Tower, her white hair shining in the moonlight.

"Why am I even here?" she asked herself, "I know they wont come, but here I am anyway…" Her gaze drifted towards the ceiling, as memories briefly passed through her mind, "How has it already been five years? Time stops for no one, I suppose."

Byleth stepped out from the shadows of the steps and into the light, their footsteps heavy on the stone, stopping just out of arm's reach of Edelgard.

She turned at the sound, stepping back as shock washed over her, "Huh?! It's...it's you!" She shook her head in disbelief, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. Well, you and the rest of your class."

She snorted and shook her head, still not believing this was real, "So you've been alive all along. What have you been doing all this time?"

"Is there an answer I could give that you'd believe?"

Edelgard stared at her teacher for a moment before closing her eyes and shaking her head, "No, I suppose there isn't." She looked at Byleth with an expression that might have wanted to be a smile, but wasn't, "But all that matters is this… Will you return to the Empire with me?"

Byleth closed their eyes and took a deep breath, "I…can't."

"That means… we're enemies now, you and I," she shook her head, "My teacher, the time for discussion has come to an end!" She stepped back, and with only a moment of hesitation, drew her sword and prepared to strike.

Byleth brushed their cape behind their back and put their hand to their hip...where an empty scabbard rested. Edelgard's attack stuttered as Byleth made no move to defend themself. "What...what are you doing? Where is your sword?"

"I left it outside. I didn't come here to fight you."

Edelgard's features tightened, and if Byleth was right, tears started to form in her eyes. She pulled her sword back to strike and renewed her charge, swinging her sword towards Byleth's neck. The blade stopped before it could end their life. It hung there, still as death in the air. "Are you really going to make no move to defend yourself?"

"Are you really going to strike me down on the night of our class reunion? It'd be a shame if everyone else arrived only to find you'd killed me."

Edelgard's breath hitched, "They're coming?"

"Well, I haven't seen them, but I have a feeling they'll show soon enough. You always trusted my instincts before, will you trust them now?"


End file.
